Distraught friends of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, an Indian student who was killed during shelling in Kharkiv in Ukraine on Tuesday, said that he had stepped out of the bunker to a supermarket nearby around 6 am local time and that he died around 8 am due to heavy shelling. The friends, who are still stuck in bunkers in Kharkiv, said that there is currently no plan to evacuate them to safety.
"There was a curfew till 6 am. He woke up earlier than me and stepped out as there was nothing to eat. He went to a market 50 metres away around 6 am and he didn't return for some time. We thought maybe there was a rush there. At 7:58 am he messaged saying there was less money in his card and we transferred money to him. But a while later, when we called his phone, someone speaking Russian said he is no more. Someone in this bunker knew the language and they helped translate," Naveen's college senior Amith told TV9 recounting this morning's events.
Amith, a fifth-year student of the Kharkiv National Medical University, was close to Naveen since his first year in the college. Amith was Naveen's senior by a year. "He was a wonderful guy and he is a ranker. He got 93% in the 3rd year. He's one of the toppers...He wanted to be a good doctor after coming back from India. His dreams were big," Amith added.
Srikanth, another medical student who was in the same bunker as Naveen, told India Today, "The market was 50 metres away from the bunker and Naveen knew the area as he was a student for four years here.” Srikanth added that there is no help for students to travel west from Kharkiv. "The help is only after we cross the border but there is no plan to help students to go west from here," Srikanth said. He added that the group in his bunker have food till tonight but it was fast running out.
Pooja Praharaj, another medical student stranded in Kharkiv who is also volunteering to get food and coordinate movement for Indian students in the city, said that Naveen's death has sent a ripple of panic among them. "The Indian government doesn't have any plan to take students from eastern Ukraine to safety. It is a long distance. We want the government to give us safe passage from Kharkiv to the Russia border which is in the south," she told India Today on Tuesday. "Now, we have lost hope and we were told after a meeting last night that it won't be possible to help us evacuate. Suddenly, this morning's news of death has made every student panic. As a coordinator, I have to be strong but till what time I will console? Food is finishing and we are drinking tap water," she added.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru that efforts were underway to recover Naveen's mortal remains and bring them back to India. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city, after its capital Kyiv. It is on the eastern side of Ukraine. According to students in Kharkiv, there are at least 3,000 Indians in the city and they are now beginning to run out of essential supplies.